The place for great and not-so-great nearly forgotten videos from the decade of Miami Vice, mullets, and acid wash jeans. All praise to the bands, YouTube, and the original posters of these videos.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Midnight Star - No Parking On The Dance Floor

One of several successful acts on S.O.L.A.R. Records, Midnight Star had 12 top 40 R&B songs during the 1980's, although only one of them (1984's "Operator") broke the pop top 40. The band was formed at Kentucky State University in the mid-1970's and was led by the Calloway brothers (Reggie and Vincent). In fact, Reggie's production skills played a central role in the band's success.

As an aside, S.O.L.A.R. (Sound of Los Angeles Records) was the re-formed Soul Train Records. The label started as a partnership between Dick Griffey and Don Cornelius (Soul Train's creator and MC). However, Cornelius quickly realized that he did not have the time for the TV show and a record label, and backed out of the project. Griffey remained with S.O.L.A.R., but the change was amicable, allowing S.O.L.A.R. to leverage Soul Train's connections. While Shalamar was the most successful act on the label, Midnight Star, Klymaxx and The Whispers (among others) had some success as well. The label eventually closed in 1992, a victim of changing tastes.

For the blog, we went with the title cut from the 1983 LP, No Parking on the Dance Floor. This album was Midnight Star's most successful LP, reaching #27 on the charts. The single did not do as well, and only reached #43 on the dance charts (and #81 on the pop charts). However, the song is an eighties funk/dance classic, complete with a Roland SVC-350 Vocoder. We also dig the video, which highlights 1983 fashion trends.